The pair acknowledged the push has little chance of passage before the November midterm elections.

"The (U.S.) House has become the death valley for a lot of proposals we've had," said Durbin, Senate Majority Whip.

Both he and Warren said they hope by holding forums like Monday's at the Boston Boloco fast food restaurant with minimum wage earners weighing in on their struggles, more voters will call their congressman and make this a key issue in the midterm elections.

The forum was filled with dozens of workers now living on the edge.

Keturah Brewster of Boston makes $8.50 a hour and is trying to save for college. She said a hike to $10.50 would be amazing.

"I wouldn't be with loans and bills at the end of the month," said Brewster.

Lawrence McCain, of East Boston, is an airplane mechanic, but can't get work in his field so he now cleans airplane cabins for $8.33/hour and said he can't keep his head above the financial waterline.

"I'm going to shelters to pick up food, food pantries and stuff. Just to keep above," he said.

Ling Zhu Cao, one of the bigger earners at the forum, just received a raise to $10.50 an hour because she is a licensed home health aide.

Speaking in Cantonese, Cao said with a daughter in college she works 50 hours a week but still can't afford to go to the doctors when she is sick. Instead, she relies on Chinese herbs.

Although their chances of raising the minimum wage before November are slim, if more Republicans are elected in the House and the Senate, as now expected, their opportunity for passage next year would be even further limited.

Right now, the federal rate is $7.25 an hour. President Barack Obama wants to hike it to $10.10.

In Massachusetts, the issue is also a priority on Beacon Hill. The current rate is $8 with a ballot initiative proposing a hike to $10.50 and a Senate bill calling for $11 over three years.

"I think there will be a minimum raise here in Massachusetts," said Paul Guzzi of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. "I am not optimistic at the federal level that we're going to have the same kind of outcome that we're going to have here in Massachusetts."

Guzzi said the business community would support a hike as long as a cut in unemployment insurance rates also is approved.

"The time has come to raise the minimum wage by government because it's not happening, otherwise, unfortunately," said John Pepper, founder of Boloco and host of the forum.

Pepper is odd man out in the fast food industry. He pays his non-managers a minimum of $9/an hour and an average of $11 an hour. He said while he feels pressure by competitors not to hike wages, he is still not doing enough.

"We've made big leaps at times, expecting those to pay off in terms of better service, better performance, more care to the food," said Pepper. "But at a certain point, we don't want to be the beneficiary of being the first movers on higher wages. At the end of the day, we're talking about human beings."

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